Court Below: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth CircuitCitation: 719 F.3d 995Supreme Court Docket

Moones Mellouli v. Loretta E. Lynch, Attorney General

Question Presented:

Under 8 U.S.C. $ 1227(a)(2)(B)(i), a noncitizen may be removed if he has been convicted of violating "any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of Title 21) ...." Regarding removal based on a state conviction for possessing drug paraphernalia, the circuits are split on whether the paraphernalia must be related to a substance listed in Section 802 of Title 21, the Controlled Substances Act. To trigger deportability under 8 U.S.C. $ 1227(a)(2)(B)(i), must the government prove the connection between a drug paraphernalia conviction and a substance listed in section 802 of the Controlled Substances Act?